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Fabinho

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So your argument is “you win with a squad, not a team... except the year we won it, cause we were lucky”.

Just stop.
If you don’t think we weren’t lucky to avoid any major injuries the year we won the league after seeing last season then I will stop as you haven’t a clue.
 
Agree with much of this except the "more effective tackler" bit (that's the one specific skill in which I've never seen Masher equalled). Huge fan of El Jefecito though I am, I have to agree that Fabinho has a more comprehensive skillset. Quite a few on here were all for getting rid when he initially took a while to settle in - in fairness I myself began to wonder at one stage - so let this be a lessonte to us all.

What I mean is Fabs doesn’t need to go to ground 90% of the time to win the ball - just sticking out a long leg or gently pushing an opponent out of the way is enough. Masher’s tackling was more spectacular, but I think the low-key and “ugly” approach is generally more effective.
 
What I mean is Fabs doesn’t need to go to ground 90% of the time to win the ball - just sticking out a long leg or gently pushing an opponent out of the way is enough. Masher’s tackling was more spectacular, but I think the low-key and “ugly” approach is generally more effective.
Masher did that too though. It wasn't all slide tackles. He did a lot of his best work by being in the right place at the right time, or just nicking the ball of someone.

I would also find it very hard to pick between Masher and Fabs.
 
Mascherano had a better international shirt. That’s the only thing he’s better than fabs.
 
Yeah it's close. Mascherano was a world class DM and so is Fabs.
I do however think that Fabs height helps us a whole lot in midfield.
 
If you don’t think we weren’t lucky to avoid any major injuries the year we won the league after seeing last season then I will stop as you haven’t a clue.

In the same way - we have a chance of winning the league this season if we’re lucky enough to not have you start a match thread.

Lucky... unlucky - what major injuries did Utd have last season - were they lucky to finish 2nd?

Every team has a degree of luck and unluckiness every season - injuries, decisions for and against, timing of when they play other teams and whether jinxy fuckers start match threads.

Honestly - you can moan about us being lucky all you like if we win the league this season.

Here’s a cliche for you to ponder - you make your own luck - or better still you make the most of your own luck.
 
Jan Molby was at least as good, even though he barely moved. That is not a dis of Mascher or Fabs!
 
I’d like him to be a tad more mobile and sometimes can get played around by the very best but overall he’s been superb for us.
 
Eh? Don’t the very best play round the very best at times? That’s why they’re the very best.
 
I’d like him to be a tad more mobile and sometimes can get played around by the very best but overall he’s been superb for us.
Disagree.

Much like Virgil he doesn't look like he hits 3rd gear.. because he doesn't have to very often.

But when he needs to, he's quick.

I loved Masher in big away games. He was a monster. However I feel Fabinho offers more in every game. Both going forward and keeping the door shut at the back.
 
Jan Molby was at least as good, even though he barely moved. That is not a dis of Mascher or Fabs!

Big Jan was a top player but not in Masher's or Fabs' class defensively. We did sometimes try to play him at DM or even as sweeper, I suspect because of his size as much as anything, but it never suited him. Admittedly it was a bad idea to foul him, because then he did get angry and use his size to kick offenders up in the air, but his main strengths were always of a constructive and attacking nature.
 
Big Jan was a top player but not in Masher's or Fabs' class defensively. We did sometimes try to play him at DM or even as sweeper, I suspect because of his size as much as anything, but it never suited him. Admittedly it was a bad idea to foul him, because then he did get angry and use his size to kick offenders up in the air, but his main strengths were always of a constructive and attacking nature.
Totally agree with you.
I loved big Jan, but if I had to compare him to another player it would be to Xabi rather than to Mascherano or Fabinho.
 
Always feel more confident of our chances when Fabinho is in the starting 11.

What a player when fully fit and firing. The perfect defensive mid who can read the game well, is strong in the tackle and is really sharp with his distribution. A real physical presence as well and brings out the dark outs when required. He's great.
 
Klopp brought up a good point after the match against Milan. He said we were too open, and didn't work hard enough to compress the spaces. As a result there was too much space to cover in midfield, even for Fab. That was when we conceded the 2 goals.

I think last season, even when we tried to press and compress the midfield area, we didn't have someone as good as Fab in there to win the ball back for us. We suffered as a result. When Fab came back into the midfield towards the end of the season, we function much better.

That said, i think we should sacrifice a midfielder to bring in another combative midfielder similar to Fab so the drop off wouldn't be that huge when Fab is not available. Anyone of Ox, Keita, even Jones should be sacrifice for someone like Bissouma or Ndidi. That will make us much stronger.
 
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Klopp brought up a good point after the match again Milan. He said we were too open, and didn't work hard enough to compress the spaces. As a result there was too much space to cover in midfield, even for Fab. That was when we conceded the 2 goals.

I think last season, even when we tried to press and compress the midfield area, we didn't have someone as good as Fab in there to win the ball back for us. We suffered as a result. When Fab came back into the midfield towards the end of the season, we function much better.

That said, i think we should sacrifice a midfielder to bring in another combative midfielder similar to Fab so the drop off wouldn't be that huge when Fab is not available. Anyone of Ox, Keita, even Jones should be sacrifice for someone like Bissouma or Ndidi. That will make us much stronger.


I think the squad would benefit from having another defensive midfielder but not necessarily the first team.

Our press isn't as efffective as it used to be. The team as a whole is older, certain players perhaps can't put in the legwork they used to and we are missing Firmino leading from the front. Also, it has to be said with the high / aggressive press becoming more popular teams have had to adapt to it.

I don't think doubling down on something with diminishing returns is the way forward.

Our problem right now is converting possession and dominance to goals. The whole "rue not taking your chances" is a cliche for a reason. Milan were on the ropes for a good 20-30 minutes and we failed to land a knockout blow. Had we have scored another one or two, we would've been able to relax and Milan would've felt it was over.
 
I think the squad would benefit from having another defensive midfielder but not necessarily the first team.

Our press isn't as efffective as it used to be. The team as a whole is older, certain players perhaps can't put in the legwork they used to and we are missing Firmino leading from the front. Also, it has to be said with the high / aggressive press becoming more popular teams have had to adapt to it.

I don't think doubling down on something with diminishing returns is the way forward.

Our problem right now is converting possession and dominance to goals. The whole "rue not taking your chances" is a cliche for a reason. Milan were on the ropes for a good 20-30 minutes and we failed to land a knockout blow. Had we have scored another one or two, we would've been able to relax and Milan would've felt it was over.

Yep - a solid goalscoring CM would be a great addition. Someone who is mobile and physical but also gets themself in the box at the right times. There aren't huge amounts of these about, and this is hopefully what Elliot can become for us. It is frustrating to feel we found an answer to this and they immediately get injured for 3 months.
 
Yep - a solid goalscoring CM would be a great addition. Someone who is mobile and physical but also gets themself in the box at the right times. There aren't huge amounts of these about, and this is hopefully what Elliot can become for us. It is frustrating to feel we found an answer to this and they immediately get injured for 3 months.

I think Ox, Keita and even Thiago were brought in for this purpose with limited success. You can see why Klopp was starting Harvey to give us more threat in midfield, and also had Trent playing in a more central position to give us abit more thrust from midfield.

I think Klopp understands our limitation in this area and is trying to improve it. Let's hope he gets it right soon and we have more goal threats coming from this area.
 
On that note, we really lack someone who ghosts into good goalscoring positions from midfield, like a Garcia/Ljungberg type, but obviously someone a bit more suited to our pressing game who is as intelligent with and without the ball. Harvey could be that player in time and at least Keita has the attributes to maybe get there too.
 
On that note, we really lack someone who ghosts into good goalscoring positions from midfield, like a Garcia/Ljungberg type, but obviously someone a bit more suited to our pressing game who is as intelligent with and without the ball. Harvey could be that player in time and at least Keita has the attributes to maybe get there too.

Maybe that’s why we were interested in Jarrod Bowen.
 
Yep - a solid goalscoring CM would be a great addition. Someone who is mobile and physical but also gets themself in the box at the right times. There aren't huge amounts of these about, and this is hopefully what Elliot can become for us. It is frustrating to feel we found an answer to this and they immediately get injured for 3 months.

Ever since Coutinho went we made an exchange for a more pragmatic midfield. We were kind of forced into it, but Klopp embraced this philosophy, and Gini had to suppress his attacking instincts. Was Elliot going to be licensed to be more expressive?
 
Masher loved a slide tackle....not sure Klopp would have used him the way Rafa used as well, but he had game to do well under Klopp as well.
 
Ever since Coutinho went we made an exchange for a more pragmatic midfield. We were kind of forced into it, but Klopp embraced this philosophy, and Gini had to suppress his attacking instincts. Was Elliot going to be licensed to be more expressive?
We’ve never had a DM before under Klopp. Maybe with Fabs now established he’s comfortable enough to feel now is the time to bring in another Coutinho-ish player?
We do have trouble breaking down teams that defend deep and really need someone who can score more often from outside the box.
 
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